The Australian Medical Council is an organisation whose work impacts across the lands of Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian Medical Council acknowledges the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the original Australians and the Māori People as the tangata whenua (Indigenous) Peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). We recognise them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.

We pay our respects to them and to their Elders, both past, present and emerging, and we recognise their enduring connection to the lands we live and work on, and honour their ongoing connection to those lands, its waters and sky.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of people who have passed away.

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Resources for international medical graduates

These resources have been collated to assist doctors studying for the AMC examinations for the Standard Assessment Pathway and preparing for medical practice in Australia. The list reflects advice from clinicians and examiners from all the disciplines that are covered in the AMC examination.

The list of resources is not a curriculum for the examinations and the resources are not prescribed reading. The list is provided for guidance. It covers online resources, short texts and long and comprehensive textbooks which most people use as reference books.

This list will be updated regularly.

Websites and online resources

BMJ Learning: Online courses for Healthcare Professionals, BMJ Group

  • A UK online resource with more than900 courses. Some of them are free but most can be accessed for a small monthly fee.

Geeky medics

  • A UK online resource that is mostly free however you pay for things such as MCQs.
  • Includes clinical skills videos, communication skills, history taking and 1300 practice OSCE stations.

Life in the Fastlane

  • An Australian-based online resource that is most famous for its ECG training.
  • Includes x-ray analysis, fluid management, quizzes and videos of scenarios such as ‘Breaking bad news’.

Elsevier Australia

  • A series of videos by medical publishers Elsevier Australia.
  • It includes a series based on Talley and O’Connor of clinical examinations and history taking.

Oxford Medical Education

  • 360 videos on a range of topics including history taking, examination, skills and ECGs.
Websites and online resources

Doctors speak up

  • A free Australian online resource about Australian communication and language skills for International Medical Graduates. Explore resources by topic, case or activity.

University of Nottingham

  • Ten videos about communication skills for doctors.
Online resources

Emergency Care Institute of NSW

  • Links to external resources for exams and emergencies.

Life in the Fast Lane (LITFL) Library

  • Includes anthologies and collections of emergency medicine and critical care education.
Websites
Books

The Murtagh Collection

  • Murtagh, J, Rosenblatt, J, Coleman, J, Murtagh, C (eds). Murtagh’s General Practice. 8th edition. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education (Australia), 2021
  • Murtagh, J, Coleman, J, Murtagh’s Practice Tips. 8th edn. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education (Australia), 2019
    • These are the classic textbooks of General Practice used all around the world but written in Australia.
  • Wearne, S. Clinical Cases for General Practice Exams, 4th Edition.  Sydney, NSW: McGraw Hill, 2019.
    • A resource used by GPs studying for exams.

Treatment manuals

  • Remote Primary Health Care Manuals, Central Australian Rural Practitioner Association.
    • A widely used and highly regarded resource in remote health across central, northern, and remote Australia. These manuals support and promote good clinical practice in primary health care.
Online resources

Diagnostic Imaging Pathway, Government of Western Australia, Department of Health.

DermNet

  • The world’s leading free dermatology website.

Ashm

  • ASHM represents healthcare professionals in HIV, BBV, and sexual and reproductive health.
Books
  • Penman, ID, Ralston, SH, Strachan, MWJ, Hobson R (eds). Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine, 24th edn. Edinburgh: Livingstone, 2022.
  • Nair, BKR, ed. Clinical Examination: A Problem Based Approach. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company, 2011.
  • Talley, NJ, O’Connor, S. Clinical Examination: A Systematic Guide to Physical Diagnosis. 9th edn. Sydney: Churchill Livingstone, 2021.
Websites and online resources

National Prescribing Curriculum, University of Tasmania

  • A free comprehensive Australian guide to prescribing. Includes quizzes and certificates.

QUM Learning (formerly NPS Medicinewise), Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

  • Free Australian modules on prescribing, webinars, screening, case studies

Australian Prescriber, Therapeutic Guidelines Limited

  • Free medication updates and information

Australian Medicines Handbook, Australian Medicines Handbook Pty Ltd.

  • One of the two main prescribing resources used in Australia.Cost is $295 per year; automatic content updates occur in January and July each year.

Therapeutic Guidelines, Therapeutic Guidelines Limited

  • The other main Australian prescribing resource. Cost is $399 per year.

Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic prescribing in primary care: Therapeutic Guidelines summary table, Therapeutic Guidelines Limited

  • This is a free resource about antibiotic prescribing in primary care.
Websites and online Resources

Clinical Practice Guidelines, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

ChAMP Guidelines, Perth Children’s Hospital, Government of Western Australia Child and Adolescent Health Service.

  • A resource for working out doses of medication for children.
Books
  • Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne, Victoria). Paediatric Handbook. 10th edn. Melbourne: Blackwell Scientific, An essential paediatric textbook
  • Roberton, DM, South, Practical Paediatrics. 7th edn. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, 2012.
    • This book can be accessed online where there is a self-assessment section.
Websites and online resources
Online resources
Books
  • Aquilina, C, Tucker, G, (eds). A Guide to Psychiatric Examination. London: Elsevier; 2021.
    • This is a practical guide to clinical practice in psychiatry. It includes topics in subspecialty areas such as consultation liaison psychiatry and emergency psychiatry. The book is easy to read, with accessible layout and language. The chapter authors are clinicians from the UK and Australia, so the content is very applicable to psychiatric assessment and management in real world settings relevant to candidates.
  • Bloch, S, Green, SA, Janca, A, Mitchell, PB, Robertson, M. Foundations of Clinical Psychiatry. 4th edn. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2017. 
    • This Australian textbook covers specific patient groups, common psychiatric conditions, and clinical settings. Core information about management including the type of clinical services, and biological and psychological treatments are detailed. This textbook provides a good overview of clinical practice and includes case vignettes (clinical stories).
  • Boland, R, Verduin, ML.  Kaplan & Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry. 5th Edn. USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2022.
    • This comprehensive guide goes through the core elements of clinical psychiatry as well as specialty areas such as psychiatry of old age, child and adolescent and clinical ethics. It includes case histories, which are helpful linking theory to practice.  Note it is largely written by authors from the USA.
Books
  • Nikolic, A. General Surgery SET Interview: The Ultimate Preparation Guide. 2nd edn. 2022.
    • A kindle ebook that is aimed at doctors who are interviewing for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons examination.
  • Delbridge, M, Al-Jundi, W. Basic Science for the MRCS: A revision guide for surgical trainees. 4th edition. Elsevier, 2022.
    • A textbook for those aiming to become surgeons. It outlines anatomy, physiology and pathology.
  • Mitchell, R, Kumar, V, Abbas, A, Aster, J. Pocket Companion to Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 10th edn.  Elsevier, 2023.
  • Mirjalili, S. Anatomy for the Generic Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE). Springer, 2017. —— Physiology for General Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE). Springer, 2019

 

Websites
Books

AMC Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Examination

The MCQ examination is a comprehensive examination of medical knowledge and practice. The AMC recommends that candidates undertake a thorough review of the major topics covered in the examination.

Candidates should familiarise themselves with the MCQ format. A wide range of general texts is readily available on this form of examination and its associated techniques.

While candidates may find it useful to review the major textbooks in the key clinical disciplines, the questions in the MCQ examination are oriented towards the more common clinical applications, differential diagnosis and therapeutics, and candidates should take care when using major reference type textbooks. The AMC has drawn up a guide to some useful texts. These textbooks, listed below, will provide background reading on key topics and contain a great deal of reference material. They are not intended as prescribed reading.

Candidates may find it more useful to review medical journals that contain useful review articles and summaries of the identification, treatment and management of the more common clinical conditions in the Australian community.

 

Good Medical Practice

The AMC Good Medical Practice – Professionalism, Ethics and Law is an ideal core textbook for international medical graduates (IMGs), medical students and doctors in training. The publication is recommended reading for IMGs undertaking the AMC examination process. It will also serve as a reference book for doctors in independent clinical practice and as a guide to medical regulators and lawyers, doctors, and community members who serve on performance and conduct panels and tribunals.

Purchase a copy

AMC Clinical Examination

For the AMC Clinical Examination, the AMC recommends that candidates undertake a comprehensive review of clinical skills and differential diagnosis. Experience suggests that a review of journals that contain articles dealing with common clinical conditions in the Australian community will be more effective in preparing for the clinical examinations than spending too much time with reference books. A list of useful journals is provided below.

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The Australian Medical Council is an organisation whose work impacts across the lands of Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Medical Council acknowledges the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the original Australians and the Māori People as the tangata whenua (Indigenous) Peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). We recognise them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. We pay our respects to them and to their Elders, both past, present and emerging, and we recognise their enduring connection to these lands on which we live and work every day, and honour their ongoing connection to those lands, its waters and sky.
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